Are your Slivers feeling a tad small? Can’t attack or tap the turn you play them? Do they get targeted and are removed too quickly? Are they wanting more than just a +1/+1 buff and flying? We know what you are going through, and we are here to help. I’m TuxebroMask and I will be your guide into the wonderful world of Slivers!
Us here at Sliver Academy have a variety of highly regarded Teachers and Admin which bring out the best of your Slivers. Our esteemed Staff have been teaching Slivers since 1997, when the Tempest set released. We nurture each and every Sliver with care, protection, and love. Each Sliver is unique and deserves the best opportunities during their careers in EDH Decks, and these are the Commanders which should take the helm of said decks.
Let us introduce you to our Head Teachers at the Academy.
First, and conveniently named, is our most recent addition to the Head Teachers, The First Sliver (Mrs. Frizzle, The Magic School Bus). Mrs. Frizzle believes in field trips daily, Cascading into more and more lessons which fill the Slivers with curiosity of what will come next. Sometimes you will have your own small classroom of Slivers appear, or maybe even hit more mana rocks and ramp. When Mrs. Frizzle hits the field, you’ll hear opponents beg “Please let this be a normal field trip.” With the Friz, No Way!
Our next esteemed Headteacher is none other than Sliver Legion (John Kimble, Kindergarten Cop), our Head Phys-Ed Teacher. Every Sliver who attends their class feel like nothing is impossible. Tackling mountains, and turning the tides seem simple to the Slivers under the tutelage of Sliver Legion. Where some believe they are alone, John Kimble teaches the young Slivers to stick together and that there is power in numbers. When John Kimble makes an appearance, and you have to chose who to attack, the appropriate question is, “Who is your Daddy?”
Now, the next teacher is none other than Sliver Hivelord (Mr.Miyagi, The Karate Kid). Teaching all the slivers how to survive any encounter, and withstand any board wipe with his “Wax on – Wax off” approach is one of the most important of lessons to learn for any young Sliver.Indestructibility is more for defense, as Mr.Miyagi’s rules go “Rule #1:Karate for defense only. Rule #2:First learn rule #1.”
The First (True) Legendary Sliver, Sliver Queen (Mrs. Krabappel, Simpsons) has plenty of experience teaching students at our Academy. If there is a lesson to be learned, or if there is a need for an assembly ASAP, she can be sure to count on for making everyone appear in an orderly fashion. She might be a tad jaded from her years of play, but don’t let that change your view of her. She has what it takes combo off easily with her Heartstone of gold.
Our honorary Head Teacher here at Sliver Academy is Morophon, the Boundless (Dewey Finn, School of Rock). We never knew what we were missing until we met with them by pure happen-chance. Not only do they help all the Slivers stay a bit safer, but they also let’s their creativity run free. They make all your Slivers cost less, which makes them swarm the field quickly and colourlessly. His Lordly ability to play Rock and Roll, and dish out +1/+1 to all the Slivers might not be the strongest, but they care for each of their little starlets.
Lastly is our Head Head Teacher, Sliver Overlord (Professor Charles Xavier, X-men). Can they assemble the right team for any situation? Check. Can they hit the magical Commander number or 7 power? Check. Do they also convince Slivers that they are in the wrong Academy and to come join theirs? Check. This is the Sliver you want at the helm of any School, as when their class is in session, they teach your opponent’s how to fear Slivers. But truly, all Professor X wants is to help the Slivers learn all the abilities possible, and to see their true potential.
These are the Primary Candidates for your Sliver Decks Generals, and each has their strength and weakness. At the moment, Sliver Overlord, Morophon, and The First Sliver are the usual choices for your Commander, with Sliver Legion being a more aggressive, but lesser used build than the rest. Sliver Overlord is the usual General for most decks due to his Combo with Amoeboid Changeling (stealing opponent’s creatures) and also due to the fact that he can tutor up any sliver needed for every situation. Morphon is a newer commander who is being used in many tribal decks at the moment, and with Slivers, he can cause a whole board to appear out of nowhere. The First Sliver is actually a unique deck which uses the cascade ability to its full extent, making sure that there are plenty of different slivers at different costs to play more expensive spells and also have multiple cascades. It also uses 0 cost spells in case you play a 1-drop sliver, so that you can wheel your hand, balance the board, draw 3 cards, etc… This one has seen some great success especially when you can stack your deck using Sensei’s Divining Top or Scroll Rack. Each General has their own 20ish card swap outs to tune their decks to their abilities.
Over my next few articles, I will be going through each choice and how the decks could be played. As with the next article, I will introduce the Slivers which can make their way into each deck, as their abilities which they pass on are too good to pass up. If you have any suggestions about what you would like to see in the next articles, please write a suggestion in the comments.
There might still be a lot of hatred towards Slivers, as many players have felt their wrath one way or another. This is to be expected, but do not fret. Make sure to still use our Pointy-Faced-Murder-Scythes and teach your opponents that they are a loving and friendly bunch of creatures… until you turn them sideways.
